CRS Legal Sidebar via LC – Can the President Close the Border? Relevant Laws and Considerations, April 12, 2019: “Does the executive branch have authority to “close” the southern border? Recently, President Trump declared that he would order the closure of the U.S.-Mexico border or at least “large sections” of it, unless Mexico acts to… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Category Archives: Financial System
GAO – Action Is Needed to Address the Federal Government’s Fiscal Future
The Nation’s Fiscal Health: Action Is Needed to Address the Federal Government’s Fiscal Future, GAO-19-314SP: Published: Apr 10, 2019. Publicly Released: Apr 10, 2019. “This report provides an update on the nation’s fiscal health as of the end of FY 2018, and describes its likely fiscal future if policies don’t change. Among its findings: The… Continue Reading
You elected them to write new laws. They’re letting corporations do it instead.
This story was published in partnership with USA TODAY and The Arizona Republic: “Each year, state lawmakers across the U.S. introduce thousands of bills dreamed up and written by corporations, industry groups and think tanks. Disguised as the work of lawmakers, these so-called “model” bills get copied in one state Capitol after another, quietly advancing… Continue Reading
House Democrats launch probe into EPA officials’ ties to utilities
POLITICO: “The House Energy and Commerce Committee is launching an investigation into whether top EPA officials violated ethics rules by launching a rollback of air pollution regulations that benefited their former lobbying clients in the electric utility sector. The committee’s Democrats are seeking to probe communications between the utilities and an industry group that was… Continue Reading
How the Law Can Boost Recession Recovery
[email protected] – “In the Great Recession, the two key tools for rescuing the economy — fiscal and monetary policy — had big limitations, according to Yair Listokin, author of a new book: Law and Macroeconomics: Legal Remedies to Recessions. The big increases in government spending needed to get the economy cooking again were mostly a… Continue Reading
To Purge Some of Social Media’s Ugliness, an Unlikely Lesson From Wall St.
The New York Times Deal Book – A simple rule that bolsters the banking system – “know your customer” — could help combat fake news and hate speech online if companies like Facebook and Twitter embraced it. “…The concept is “know your customer” — or KYC, as it’s called on Wall Street — and it’s… Continue Reading
OECD – Under Pressure: The Squeezed Middle Class
“Under Pressure: The Squeezed Middle Class: “Middle-class households feel left behind and have questioned the benefits of economic globalisation. In many OECD countries, middle incomes have grown less than the average and in some they have not grown at all. Technology has automated several middle-skilled jobs that used to be carried out by middle-class workers… Continue Reading
Congress Is About to Ban the Government From Offering Free Online Tax Filing
ProPublica: “Just in time for Tax Day, the for-profit tax preparation industry is about to realize one of its long-sought goals. Congressional Democrats and Republicans are moving to permanently bar the IRS from creating a free electronic tax filing system. Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., passed… Continue Reading
Aspen Institute – Automation and a Changing Economy
Automation is an important ingredient driving economic growth and progress. “Automation has enabled us to feed a growing population while allowing workers to transition from subsistence farming to new forms of work. Automation helped moved us from a craft system to mass production, from blue-collar to white-collar to “new collar” work—with better work, higher wages, more jobs, and… Continue Reading
Center on Civil Justice at NYU School of Law Launches Dispute Financing Library
Litigation Finance Journal: “The Center on Civil Justice at NYU School of Law has launched a comprehensive digital library of documents relating the third-party litigation funding industry. The third-party litigation funding industry is young and growing quickly in size and importance. Its supporters maintain the industry, when run properly, provides needed resources to improve the… Continue Reading
Opinion: America’s ability to identify financial stability risks is weakening
Medium Riki Matsumoto – “As the ten year anniversary of the infamous Lehman Weekend has come and gone, it’s important to reflect on the lessons that we learnt. Or in the tragic case of the Office of Financial Research, the independent federal agency Congress set up to identify risks to America’s financial stability; lessons that we… Continue Reading
Around $1bn Invested in 2018 Into Legal Tech/NewLaw Companies
Artificial Lawyer: “Research by investment bank, Investec, has found that around $1bn was invested into legal tech and related NewLaw businesses in 2018 alone (see below), at least in the major markets. Moreover, capital is expected to keep flowing into this sector in 2019 with consolidation seen as a likely driver of further change. The… Continue Reading
